She was gone. She’d left his apartment without saying a word.

She’d left him.

Just like he’d left her that night in college after they’d slept together.

He shook his head, dragged his fingers through his hair and leaned against the kitchen counter.

Well, that felt shitty.

And now he knew how Carolina had felt. He leaned against the kitchen counter, shaking his head and smiling at the thought of the payback she’d given him.

A payback he’d damn well deserved.

Well played, Carolina. Well played.

TWELVE

“THIS HEMLINE NEEDS TO COME UP TWO INCHES. JUST above the knee, so each tier of the skirt has movement.”

“I can take care of that,” Tierra said, kneeling in front of the model to mark where the cut in the hemline would be.

Carolina walked down the line, surveying her clothes on the models. So different than viewing them on a hanger. Now they had life.

She twirled her finger, and the next model turned and walked the length of the room.

“This one’s good just the way it is.”

“I totally agree,” Edward said. “Love the color and the way it clings to her body.”

“Just one thing, though,” Carolina said, squinting as she observed. “The color. It’s too muted. We need to change the fabric. Flesh it out a bit. Maybe more of a deep coral rather than a peach?”

Edward studied the model, too, then finally nodded. “I think you might be right. I like the peach, but the coral would be stunning, especially with Felicia’s skin tone.”

Carolina nodded and jotted down the change in her notebook. “Let’s do that.”

Edward made a note as well.

They spent the next hour going over textures and fabrics and design, watching the way each piece of clothing moved and the way they looked under the lights before making some changes. All in all it was a good fitting.

She’d spent the past few weeks immersed in the line. It had been a furious undertaking and she’d worked nonstop, seven days a week, burying herself in her designs as the clock ticked on finalizing everything.

Since that night she’d spent with Drew, she hadn’t had a moment to think about him.

Much.

She’d woken early that morning after and gotten up to use the bathroom and had come back into the bedroom, planning to slide under the covers with him.

But something had stopped her. Maybe it was the way he looked, the covers drawn down, covering only his lower half. He’d been sprawled on his stomach, his hair wildly unkempt, his arms thrown up over his head. His lashes, so sinfully long, nearly brushed against his upper cheek. His full lips were closed and she’d held her breath as she watched him sleep.

God, he’d looked so sexy at that moment all she’d wanted to do was grab her sketch pad and draw him looking just like that.

Before the inspiration left, she’d gotten dressed and hightailed it out of there, grabbing a taxi and heading home. After she’d spent an hour getting the angles and shadows just right, she was satisfied she’d gotten the sketch as she’d envisioned it.

It was beautiful. Perfect.

Exhausted after that burst of creativity, she climbed into bed and slept for two hours. It wasn’t until after she woke up, showered, and made a cup of tea that she realized she’d just up and left Drew without a word.

She thought about calling him, even picked up her phone, her finger hovering at the button, then laid her phone down.

After that night, it was probably best to just leave it alone. They’d had a good time. Or at least she had. The sex had been phenomenal. Not that it had surprised her that they would be good together. Their first time had been more than she’d fantasized about. This time? Even better.

She warmed thinking about how he’d touched her, how many times he’d made her come. She wished she were back in bed with him right now.

But just once. Only that one time. That was all there could be between them. It wasn’t going to happen again.

Diving headfirst into work had been the best way to keep herself from contacting him.

And he hadn’t called her, so that was a good sign he’d thought much the same thing.

Then again, maybe he was pissed she’d walked out on him. She really did owe him an explanation. Or maybe she should just leave well enough alone and call it another great one-night stand with Drew. They seemed to do one-night stands really well, only that night had been the last night.

The only problem was, she needed to start calling in her male models for fittings. Christmas was right around the corner and she needed to finalize sizings before the holidays shut everything down and she wouldn’t be able to get in contact with everyone.

Gray told her he’d come in for a fitting, and that meant she needed to get hold of Drew and figure out who would be wearing what. Then she needed to start an advertising campaign, a tease for her line.

After doing that sketch of Drew asleep the morning after their night together, she already had a fantastic idea for advertising the underwear line. She could get another one of the models—a professional—to do the shoot, but the problem was, her vision was dead-set on seeing Drew in that spot.

Any hot, sculpted body would do. Logically, she knew that. But logic didn’t always fit with her inspiration. She just couldn’t see anyone else in her men’s underwear but Drew.

She took a deep breath and grabbed her phone, hoping he didn’t answer and she’d get his voice mail.

Success. After several rings, Drew’s voice mail picked up.

“Hey, Drew, it’s Carolina. I’d like to arrange a time for you to come by and try on some of the clothes you’ll be modeling for me. Plus, we need to start talking about how you’ll fit into my advertising plan for the line. If you could give me a call back, or just shoot me an email with your schedule for the next week, we can work something out. Thanks.”

She hung up, satisfied that she’d sounded completely professional.

Now all she had to do was wait until he—

She jumped when her phone buzzed in her hand. She looked at the display, then relaxed when Stella’s name came up.

“Hey, Stell.”

“Hey, yourself. How’s work going?”

“Good. Crazy busy. How about you?”

“It’s going well. Rehearsals are intense and my calves are cramping, but I’m excited about doing this show.”

“I can’t wait to come see it.”

“I called to tell you I have a few hours’ break. Can you take a little time off and have some lunch with me?”

She hadn’t seen Stella since that night at the bar, either. The problem with having a deadline was shutting herself off from everyone. But she hadn’t eaten yet and things were running smoothly. “I’d love to.”

“Great.”

They made plans to meet at a bistro not far from the theater district. She gave some instructions to her staff, then hopped in a taxi. Stella was waiting outside the restaurant.

“It’s cold out here,” Carolina said as she slid her arm through Stella’s and they headed inside.

“I’m still hot from rehearsals. The fresh air felt good.”

It was a little after the regular lunch hour rush, so the place wasn’t crowded. They were seated right away and Carolina ordered an iced tea and a chicken salad.

“I want all the details on how rehearsals are going.”

Stella took a deep breath and shrugged out of her coat. “Great, but the choreographer is a bastard. He works us all until every muscle in our bodies is screaming. I both love and hate him. I’m learning so much, but oh, my God, I’m so sore at night that all I want to do is go home, ease my body into a hot bath, then fall facedown on my bed and pass out.”

“But it’s good, right?” Carolina asked as the waiter brought their drinks. “It’s going to be a good show?”

“It’s going to be a great show, and really amazing exposure for me. I’m so lucky to be with the company. You know how much I literally squealed like a damn girl when I got a spot.”

Carolina laughed. “I know. You’ve been working so hard to get in with a good troupe.”

“Yes. So no matter how much I complain about how hard they’re working me, it’s just the best job. And we have to rehearse hard because the show opens right after Christmas.”

“I’ll be there.”

Stella grasped her wrist. “I know you will. And I love you for that, considering how insane with work you are right now.”

Carolina laughed. “Well, my insanity is coming up, but I always have time for you.”

The waiter brought their food and they sat and ate. Stella dove into her salad just as eagerly as Carolina did.

“Are you eating well?”

Stella nodded. “Yes. I have to. I’m burning calories like crazy. I’d die if I didn’t replenish. How about you?”

“Trying to. Edward and Tierra ride me worse than my parents about eating. One or the other of them is always fetching me food. It’s unlikely I’m going to starve to death.”

“I’ll be sure to thank them both next time I see them.” Stella stopped to take a sip of tea, then looked at her. “And how about hot guy Drew? Seen him lately?”

She popped a crouton into her mouth and shook her head. “Not since that night in the bar. How about hot guy Trick? How did that go?”

Stella grinned. “That went very well. And he is very hot. But like you, I don’t have a lot of time for hot men in my life, and he’s had several road games. But we have done some long-distance sexting.”

“That sounds fun.”

“It has been. And it relieves some of that excess tension. He’s a great guy.”

Carolina studied her. “You like him.”

Stella shrugged. “As much as I can like any guy. He’s good in the sack, and I might want to do him again.”

“You try so hard to make it seem like he doesn’t matter.”

“Please. We only had one night. And you’re avoiding the subject of you and Drew. How did that go after we left?”

“I went to his place.”

Stella laid her fork down. “And?”

“And I . . . left the next morning.”

Stella’s eyes widened. “Ohhh, so you slept with him. Yay. You needed to get laid.”

“I really did.”

“Anything since then?”

“Nothing at all. I actually left before he woke up. And I’ve been so busy I haven’t had any time to talk to him. Plus, he hasn’t called me.”

“So, you walked out on him without a word. Good for you.”

She loved Stella’s smug smile. “You know I didn’t plan to dump him. I had this . . . well, this is going to sound bizarre, but when I got up that morning, he looked so beautiful sprawled out on the bed, I was inspired to draw him just like that. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my drawing pad with me, so I dashed out of his place, raced home and sketched that image I had of him before I could lose the visual.”

Stella just stared at her.

“I know. I told you it was bizarre.”

“No, I’m just thinking. So you weren’t out to get revenge on him for dumping you in college.”

“No. Of course not.”

“Not consciously, anyway. But maybe subconsciously?”

Carolina took another bite of salad, studying Stella. Finally, she waved her fork at her friend. “I think you have a vindictive streak in you.”

Stella laughed. “You think?”

“I still think some guy broke your heart and you never got revenge.”

“And you think I’m projecting my need for revenge onto you.”

“Yes.”

Stella laughed. “Trust me. If I wanted revenge, I’d go get it for myself. I just think Drew did you wrong, and I figured you took your opportunity to get him back.”